


Armored

by Kleptomaniac_Can_Opener



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Awkwardness, Complicated Relationships, F/F, Jealousy, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Puberty, Teenage Drama, who is that guy in the armor?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 16:34:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7322698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kleptomaniac_Can_Opener/pseuds/Kleptomaniac_Can_Opener
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Kaiser was already tough, but now there’s a mysterious digimon on his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Armored

**Author's Note:**

> A super old idea I had back in the 90s. :)
> 
> Grades 7-9 are junior high in Japan. The Japanese ages:  
> Iori is 9 and in the 3rd grade  
> Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, and Ken are 11 and in the 5th grade  
> Miyako is 12 and in the 6th grade  
> Mimi and Koushiro are 13 and in 7th grade  
> Taichi, Yamato, and Sora are 14 and in 8th grade  
> Jyou is 14 and in 9th grade.

He wore red armor decorated with orange and yellow flames on top of blue material that hugged a fit body. The armor engulfed his hands up to the elbow, his feet and legs below the knee, his thighs, chest, and half of his head where burgundy hair stuck out of the open back. Three long, deadly metal blades jutted out of each hand and foot-like claws, and one blade like a horn curved from his forehead. Three leather straps were on both his upper arms, with some kind of square device on the left one. Even though there were eye holes, only his tanned lower face could be seen clearly because of how deeply hooded they were.

“What digimon is that?” asked Takeru, a blond haired and blue eyed boy, in astonishment.  
“I don’t know,” answered Patamon, an orange and cream-color guinea pig-like creature, who was clinging to the top of the blonde’s head and wrinkling his white hat. “I’ve never seen him before.”  
“He reminds me of Flamdramon,” said Hawkmon, a bird that resembles the Bald Eagle, from where he was perched on Miyako’s shoulder. He was careful not to tangle her long lavender hair or to accidentally knock her glasses. “Perhaps they’re related.” He jumped off to fly above their small group, never taking his eye off of the potential enemy.

“He’s not wearing a Dark Ring,” Hikari, a girl with short brown hair and brown eyes, pointed out. “Maybe he’s nice and he’ll let us cross.” At the moment, the second group of Digi-destined needed to transverse File Dump Canyon in order to reach Open File Valley. So far, resistance had been the occasional Dark Ring scout that they managed to free before they alerted any others, but now this unknown digimon stood in their way.

“I’ll try talking to him,” Armadillomon, a yellow version of his namesake with red markings on his head, stated before marching forward. “Hey there, stranger,” he started off in a friendly manner. “I’m Armadillomon, how are ya?”  
“Turn back.” The voice was gruff but surprisingly young, probably around the children’s ages.  
“Come on, it would be right friendly of ya to let us cross that there bridge.” The mystery digimon lifted a claw towards Armadillomon, it lit up with fire. “Or not!” The smaller digimon quickly backed off to stand next to his Destined Iori.

The claw dropped back to the armored digimon’s side.

“I don’t think reasoning is going to work,” Miyako said with her hands on her hips. “It’s too far to carry everyone across, and we haven’t seen any other bridges.”  
“If he wanted to fight he would have attacked already,” Iori argued. He was the youngest Destined in the group, with large green eyes and brown hair cut into a short bowl style. “We shouldn’t give up on talking yet.”  
“I agree,” Hikari added. “We should find out why he won’t let us through, at least.”

Tailmon, a white cat with purple stripes and giant yellow glove-like paws, stepped forward. “Let me talk to him.” She approached the bigger digimon, studying him with her sharp gaze. He was one of the humanoid ones like Angemon but he had the skinniness of youth. It made him physically appear to be the same age as Takeru and Hikari. “I’m not here to fight,” she announced when she was within a reasonable distance. “I just want to know why you’re guarding this bridge.”

He seemed to consider her words. “Kaiser-sama has barred entry into Open File Valley. Turn back.”

The Digi-destined and their partners immediately took on defensive stances. “You don’t have a Ring, why are you working for him?” Tailmon demanded. The armored digimon raised both of his claws and took on a fighting stance.  
“Because I owe him. Flame Knuckle!”

Tailmon yelped as she evaded a fiery fist that smashed into the ground she had previously been standing on.

The digimon kept his spot in front of the bridge gateway. “I, Rekkamon, won’t allow anyone to pass,” he declared with firm conviction. 

“At this rate we’ll have no choice but to fight him,” Takeru said as the group backed off to come up with a strategy. “I don’t know what he thinks the Kaiser has done for him, but he’s willing to die for it.”  
“We should do a concentrated group attack,” Miyako chimed in. “We just have to get him away from the gate.”  
“Then we’ll be able to cross before he can stop us,” Hikari concluded.

They all looked to each other then nodded. “Digiarmor energize!”  
“Hawkmon armor digivolve to…Halsemon! The Wings of Love!”  
“Armadillomon armor digivolve to…Digmon! The Drill of Knowledge!”  
“Tailmon armor digivolve to…Nefertimon. Angel of Light!”  
“Patamon digivolve to…Pegasusmon! Galloping Hope!”

The four armored digimon converged on Rekkamon. “Star Shower!” shouted Pegasusmon.  
“Tempest Wing!” followed Halsemon.  
“Rock Crackin’!” Digmon bellowed.  
“Rosetta Stone!” Nefertimon screamed.

Rekkamon swung both arms out in an arc over his head. “Flaming Arch!” Each attack was destroyed in turn with a wall of fire.  
“Keep it up,” Takeru encouraged. They all attacked again, but Rekkamon used another Flaming Arch and didn’t shift in the slightest.

“This guy’s tough,” Iori commented.  
“We have to draw him out,” Hikari suggested. “If we surrounded him we could hit him.  
“But how do we get him out?” Nefertimon asked for everyone.  
“Yeah, he hasn’t budged a lick,” Digmon commented.

Halsemon was watching Rekkamon as they conversed. “He won’t be moved so easily. I can feel his conviction from here.”  
“Yes,” agreed Pegasusmon. “He would make someone an excellent partner with such loyalty. It’s a trait to be admired.”  
“It’s a shame he’s not on our side,” Hikari remarked.

A beeping interrupted their train of thought. Rekkamon tapped the device on his arm, and then a muffled voice could be heard. “Kaiser-sama says to return.”  
“Understood.” He tapped it again and stepped away from the bridge.

“Wait, what?” Miyako shouted in befuddlement.  
“I’ve been relieved, I’m going. Feel free to cross.” Rekkamon began walking away.  
“This has to be a trap,” Takeru remarked. Rekkamon shrugged.

“Hey, wait!” Hikaru called out. The digimon paused. “What did you mean when you said you owe the Digimon Kaiser? What did he do?” Rekkamon was silent for a long moment.  
“He saved me. Good luck.” He took off running, quickly putting distance between them. The Destined digimon discarded their armored forms.

“The Kaiser saved him?” Miyako shouted in disbelief.  
“I supposed even he has a good side,” Iori muttered almost to himself.  
“Yeah, maybe he can be made nice all the time,” Armadillomon said enthusiastically.  
“Don’t count on it,” hissed Tailmon.  
“Yeah,” Takeru agreed. “It’s obvious he did it for his own gain. The Kaiser is pure evil.”

Hikari had chosen not to comment. She made her way to the bridge with Tailmon following her. “It looks safe enough. Let’s go.”

By the time the group of heroes made it to Open File Valley, they couldn’t accomplish much more than find a port to activate so they could directly travel to and from the area. It still bothered them why the Kaiser had suddenly pulled his slaves out, but what could they do but keep moving forward?

~*~

“Iori-kun and Miyako-chan aren’t with you today?” Hikari questioned as she met up with Takeru at the usual street corner. The three lived in the same apartment building, so they usually walked to school together.  
“They’re both in group projects and had to leave early,” the blond explained. Hikari smiled.  
“Oh, then I guess it’s just us this morning.” She pointed to her backpack. “Although Tailmon is still catnapping.”  
“Patamon’s still asleep, too,” Takeru laughed.

“Is your brother going to have another concert?” the brunette asked as they walked.  
“Yeah, there’s a school function coming up for the junior high and his band is playing at it. I think he mentioned playing at a big party this month, too.”  
“The Teenage Wolves are so popular now. Maybe we should make a banner?”

Their conversation was cut off as soon as they passed through the school gate. There’s a lot of yelling and cheering going on, and for some reason it seemed like half of the school’s population was outside. The pair looked to each other in concern and curiosity before rushing towards where the crowd was gathered.

The morning free-for-all on the school’s soccer field was in a frenzy. After morning practice, all of the students were allowed to play on the green. Often it was every person for him or herself so people could come and go as they pleased. Today, a new kid was dominating.

When Hikari and Takeru saw him, they thought at first that Hikari’s older brother Taichi was visiting from the junior high school. He had similar spiky hair and he even had a pair of stylish goggles resting on top of his head, just like Taichi would. Also like the junior high boy, the new kid was heads and shoulders above the rest in his soccer skills. He practically looked like a sports commercial as he waved and smiled at the audience, even though he wasn’t wearing a uniform or anything fancy. He was only in a tanned leather vest, a blue shirt with a big white stripe through the sleeves and over the chest, light blue wristbands, green cargo shorts, and thick blue boots with steel toes.

“I love his ear tails!” squealed a girl.  
“Yeah, sideburns are hot!” responded another. “How long do you think his hair is? He has such a good tail going.”  
“Long enough to run our fingers through.”

It was easy to tell who the actual soccer fans were versus the guy watchers.

“He’s gonna score again!” someone shouted from the field.  
“Stop him!” another person cried.  
“Here I come,” declared the new guy as he unleashed a fierce kick. The ball shot like a bullet past three other players and straight into the goal, straining against the net to its maximum stretch before finally dropping to the grass.

Hikari’s eyes were wide. “A purebred forward.”  
“I take it that’s a big deal?” Takeru asked. He knew the basics of the sport since Hikari and her brother Taichi were big fans, but he only had a passing interest in it. He was way more into basketball.  
“A little.” Hikari broke away from the blond to stand on the sidelines where she started cheering with some other girls.

Takeru frowned for a long moment. “Well, see you in class.”

When class started, the teacher stood at the head of the room. “Starting today we have a new student. He transferred late because of his father’s work. I’m sure all of you will give him a warm welcome.”

The guy from the soccer free-for-all strolled in, waving to a few of the girls and winking at Hikari. “I’m Miyamoto Musashi, and no, I can’t use a sword,” he joked. “But I know my way around a ball.”  
“Takaishi-kun, raise your hand,” ordered the teacher. “Take the seat next to him by the window, Miyamoto-kun.”

That was the last thing the blond wanted, but he plastered on a smile and acted friendly anyway. “Hi, I’m Takaishi Takeru. It’s good to meet you.” He was taken aback by a twisted smirk on Musashi’s lips, like he knew Takeru was the opposite of thrilled.  
“Sure, thanks.”

The blond disliked him even more, and he hated himself for it. The other boy hadn’t done anything. There was no reason for him to dislike Musashi.

All around them curious classmates sent fleeting glances to Musashi during their lessons. Musashi, however, was busy doodling in his notebook instead of taking notes or even really paying attention to the teachers.

‘Is he going to be okay in here?’ Takeru found himself wondering. ‘We may be a public school but we’re not that easy to coast through.’ He blinked in surprise when the other boy suddenly met his gaze. It shocked him to find that they weren’t simply brown eyes, but more like a rich cocoa. Another grin stretched across full lips, then Musashi winked at him.

Takeru jerked his gaze away and he stared hard at his book. What was that?  
It was too hot under his collar and he knew he had to be sweating. His heart was drumming away in his chest and he couldn’t make it stop. His pencil threatened to snap in his hand.

He hated that guy!

Hikari looked over at Takeru in worry. ‘What has him so upset?’ She tried to catch his attention, but he was too busy glaring at his text.

Eventually, the bell for lunch rang and the children were freed for the next hour. Several students crowded around Musashi as they walked in a group to the lunchroom. The boy could be heard laughing and joking even above the pack.

Hikari lightly tugged on Takeru’s yellow sleeve. “Hey, you okay there?”  
“Huh? Yeah, why?” Takeru blinked at his best friend. He hadn’t meant to cause her concern.  
“You were angry during class. What happened?”  
“Nothing,” he replied and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his teal shorts, trying not to sulk. “Miyamoto-san just rankles me for some reason.”  
“Hmm.” Hikari tilted her head in thought. “He is a strong personality, I suppose.” The blond sighed.  
“I know, sorry. I’m annoyed for no reason, and I’m frustrated about that. It’s just all the stuff going on with the Digital World and the Digimon Kaiser.” He stopped just outside of the lunchroom and turned to smile to the brunette. “Thanks for looking out for me.” She smiled back.  
“What are friends for?”

The pair soon met up with Miyako and Iori in the computer lab once they had their lunches. The digimon were as ecstatic as usual to eat the goods brought to them.

“Hikari-chan, tell us about the new student,” Miyako pleaded with excitement bubbling in her voice.  
“Miyamoto-kun? I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to him yet. I did watch him play soccer this morning, he was amazing!”

Takeru busily chewed his sandwich as the girls gossiped. His hackles rose as soon as Hikari started laying on the compliments about the new guy’s dribbling and shooting. Patamon stared up at him while he dug into a large dumpling. “Hm?”  
“It looks like you don’t like this Miyamoto kid, Takeru.”  
“Wh-what do you mean? I haven’t said anything.”

Patamon patted him with one of his ear wings. “I’m your digimon, I know when you’re beating yourself up about something. To me, it looks like it’s about that new guy.” Takeru patted the digimon on the head.  
“Yeah, guess you’re right.” He drank from his milk carton before continuing. “I don’t know what it is, Patamon. He just… makes me feel things I don’t want to feel.”  
“What kind of things?”

Takeru scratched through his hair, trying to put it into words. “We should talk about this later, lunch isn’t that long.”  
“Oh right. Can’t waste time, can we?” Patamon laughed and pranced over to the food pile to get another dumpling.

Takeru felt a little better, and he made a mental note to have a proper talk with Patamon after dinner. ‘What kind of things, huh? I’ll have to really think about it. I only just met him, so I shouldn’t feel much at all…’

The blond went back to class ahead of the others, but when he reached the room he found that another person had beaten him there. For a moment, the sunlight pouring in through the window made burgundy hair look like fire and tanned skin became a deep gold. His breath caught in his throat.

“Oh, hey there.” Musashi noticed he had company, and slipped away the picture he had been staring at into an inside pocket of his vest. He smiled at Takeru, and it was different from the one that morning. It was softer and it felt sincere. “Takaishi-kun, was it?”  
“Uh, yeah.” Takeru finally made himself take his seat next to Musashi.  
“It’s going to be a while before I’m used to this school. Please take care of me, okay?” Musashi grinned, it was a little goofy but charming. Takeru found that he couldn’t help but smile back.  
“Of course.”

Maybe Musashi wasn’t so bad, despite his initial feelings.

“So the cute girl next to you, what’s her name?”

The feelings of anger and frustration flooded back with a vengeance. He hated Miyamoto Musashi.  
Hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE!

~*~

“Psst! Hikari!” Miyako leaned close to the other female as they made their way through Open File Valley. It was a pleasant valley with lots of green, rolling hills and fruit bushes, but the Dark Spiral in the distance ruined the gentle landscape like a black scar.  
“Yeah?” she whispered back.  
“What’s up with Takeru-kun?”  
“I think he had a fight with Miyamoto-kun,” she replied with a frown. “When I got back to class they were glaring at each other.”

“I thought there would be more resistance than this,” Iori commented. “How strange.”  
“It is weird,” agreed Hikari. “I don’t know what to make of yesterday, but there’s still a Spiral here. There should be digimon defending it.”

“Is it me, or is it a little too empty?” Takeru asked with a frown.  
“I don’t see anyone,” Hawkmon announced from above. “No hide, nor fur, nor feather, nor scale, nor hair.”  
“That’s pretty thorough,” Patamon said.

“This place should be teeming with digimon.” Tailmon flicked her tail in her unease. “I don’t like it.” Her claws were ready, but there was nothing to attack.

“Let’s get this over with and take down that Spiral,” Miyako said after a minute. “Maybe the digimon are all in hiding.”

The Digi-destined were approaching the Spiral in short order. “I’m starting to think this is a trap,” Iori commented with a shiver, despite the warm temperature. “This isn’t right.”  
“I gotta agree with my buddy here,” said Armadillomon. “This ain’t the Kaiser’s style, just letting us mosey in like this.”

No one argued the point.

“There’s something strange about this Spiral. It looks different,” Hikari pointed out. “There are engravings all over the surface, and it’s a dark gray instead of black.”  
“Are they some kind of Digi-hieroglyphics?” Takeru suggested while getting a closer look with Patamon.  
“It’s not any sort of writing I’ve ever seen,” the orange digimon replied.

“I don’t think this is a Dark Spiral,” Iori muttered, followed by several agreements from the others. “And I don’t think this is writing,” he continued as he scanned the closest engraving to him. “I think it’s art.” Miyako snapped her fingers.  
“It’s sequential art, like a manga!” she declared.  
“You’re right,” Takeru agreed, examining the Spiral with new eyes. Once they knew what they were looking at, the lines and dots formed larger pictures inside of boxes. “It’s a silent story.”

“This guy looks like the main character,” Hawkmon said while indicating a human boy with goggles. “I think he’s a Digi-destined. There’s a veemon with him.”  
“Look,” shouted Tailmon, “the Digimon Kaiser is on here, too!”

“Is the goggle guy supposed to be my brother?” Hikari tilted her head as she studied the unusual pictures on the mysterious monolith.  
“Maybe,” replied Takeru with a shrug. “He’s the only Destined we know with goggles anyway.”

Patamon flew up to the boy’s depiction. “I don’t know. This guy’s hair isn’t fluffy enough.”  
“He’s definitely never worn a flame jacket either,” Tailmon added.  
“Yeah,” Hikari agreed after a moment. “It’s not Taichi’s style.”

“I wonder what the story is supposed to be?” Miyako mutters while studying it closer.  
“I’m not sure about the story,” Iori chimed in, sharp eyes examining the back-to-back figures, “but to me, the Kaiser and this Digi-destined seem to represent Yin and Yang.”  
“Yin-Yang? Like good and evil?”  
“It’s not such a simple concept, Miyako. Yin and Yang represents the two sides of everything, and that they’re intricately connected. One is not, and cannot, be without the other.”

“There does appear to be a certain amount of intimacy,” commented Hawkmon, pointing to where the hands of the Digimon Kaiser and the Destined were subtly clasped together.

“Guys, check this out!” Armadillomon had one of his large paws on a part of the picture near the ground. “I think this here Digiegg be in jail!”

Everyone gathered around. Depicted on the wall was a Digiegg with an upward-pointed horn, flame decorations, and a sun symbol. It was in what looked like a box with bars. “The Digiegg of Courage,” Hawkmon explained. “That veemon must be who is inside.”

“So the problem is, where are these two and why is this here?”  
Takeru’s questions hung in the air.

**Author's Note:**

> [Want to stay updated on my art and stories?](http://dawneastpoint.deviantart.com/journal/Check-Here-for-my-Updates-638603365)  
>  It'll be two steps because I'm not allowed to mention my personal blog on here.


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